For gardening enthusiasts, a true celebrity is coming to Pearland on October 9th so save that date on your calendar. Known to Texas gardeners as “The Bulb Hunter”, Chris Wiesinger is recognized as an expert on Texas heirloom flowers and an entertaining story-teller of his travels around Texas in search of heirloom plants. Chris will be the featured speaker at the Keep Pearland Beautiful annual Plant Thyme Fall Luncheon on Friday, October 9th at the First United Methodist Church of Pearland.

Chris’ passion for reintroducing heirloom plants to Texas gardeners began as a horticulture student at Texas A&M University. His life’s work started as a college project in search of flowering bulbs left for years to adapt and propagate in Texas homesteads. Chris travels the back roads spotting flowering bulbs near a home or vacant homestead. He spends much of his time in conversation with people on their front steps, asking if he can collect a few bulbs from their land to bring home to his farm for propagation. What a collection of stories he has to tell. To share these heirloom bulbs with fellow gardeners, Chris founded the Southern Bulb Company, dedicated to provide bulbs that perform well in warm climates, many of them heirloom and rare plants. He has also co-authored the book, The Bulb Hunter with William Welch, professor of horticulture at A&M Universtiy.

Make your plans now to attend the Keep Pearland Beautiful Plant Thyme Fall Luncheon on October 9th and hear Chris as he shares his stories of bulb collecting, conveys valuable horticulture knowledge of bulbs, offers ideas and examples for using bulbs in the landscape, and delights the listener with a journey filled with beautiful forgotten places. Keep Pearland Beautiful will also be featuring a native and adaptive plant sale as part of the luncheon continuing through the afternoon until 5:00 pm. On Saturday, October 10th, the plant sale moves across the street to the Pearland Farmers Market, located at Zychlinski Park, 2243 Grand Blvd.

KPB currently serves over 10,000 households, with 250 members, through litter prevention, waste reduction, and beautification programs. From organizing and running the first recycling program, to the development of hike and bike trails, initiating the Adopt-A-Spot program, to collecting Household Hazardous Waste and developing KIPPERS (Kids in Pearland Preserving the Environment through Responsible Service) in local middle schools, KPB continues to make a difference in the community in which we live, work, and play.